Abstract
Despite the apparent association between depressive experience and life satisfaction, little is known whether the two constructs are linked under a causal process. Previous investigations have suggested correlations based on the between-person differences, but such mere presence of cross-sectional association is insufficient to claim whether depressive experiences share concurring bases with cognitive evaluation of life satisfaction. This study thus focused on identifying the contemporaneous correlation between experiences of depression and life satisfaction and tested whether complex subcomponents of well-being intercorrelate in a time-synchronized way. This study utilized a dataset including adults from midlife to older age in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). The survey assessed depressive symptoms and domains of satisfaction throughout eight waves of repeated follow-ups every 2 years. The analysis examined the associations with between-person (cross-sectional) and within-person (longitudinal) effects. We found that the extent of longitudinal correlation between the two constructs was generally lower in the within-person than between-person associations, indicated as temporal asynchrony. The satisfactions in domains of health and economic status showed a relatively higher within-person correlation while satisfaction in spousal and children relationships showed minimalized within-person correlations. The result suggests that the link between depressive experience and life satisfaction is less concurrent, ruling out the explanatory model that views subjective well-being as a direct causal construction of affective experience within a specific time point. Our finding implies that the observed association between depressive symptoms and life satisfaction is largely based on accumulated through lifetime indirect pathways rather than direct reference of appraised information.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The KLoSA data are publicly available and downloadable from the employment survey site and nationally representative sample cohort studies including anthropometric and psychosocial data. The final dataset is available in the repository (https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/4jxchjhvbp/1).
References
Bakdash, J. Z., & Marusich, L. R. (2017). Repeated measures correlation. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(MAR), 456. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2017.00456/BIBTEX.
Bland, M., & Altman, D. G. (1995). Calculating correlation coefficients with repeated observations: Part 1–Correlation within subjects. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 310(6977), 446. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJ.310.6977.446.
Boey, K. W. (1999). Cross-validation of a short form of the CES-D in Chinese elderly. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14(8), 608–617. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1166(199908)14:8608::AID-GPS9913.0.CO;2-Z.
Brose, A., Schmiedek, F., Gerstorf, D., & Voelkle, M. C. (2019). The measurement of within-person affect variation. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/EMO0000583.
Burger, J., Stroebe, M. S., Perrig-Chiello, P., Schut, H. A., Spahni, S., Eisma, M. C., & Fried, E. I. (2020). Bereavement or breakup: Differences in networks of depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 267(November 2019), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.157.
Busseri, M. A. (2015). Toward a resolution of the tripartite structure of Subjective Well-Being. Journal of Personality, 83(4), 413–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12116.
Busseri, M. A., & Quoidbach, J. (2022). The structure of everyday happiness is best captured by a latent subjective well-being factor. Journal of Research in Personality, 96(July 2021), 104177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2021.104177.
Busseri, M. A., & Sadava, S. W. (2011). A review of the tripartite structure of Subjective Well-Being: Implications for conceptualization, operationalization, analysis, and synthesis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(3), 290–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310391271.
Cheung, F., & Lucas, R. E. (2014). Assessing the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures: Results from three large samples. Quality of Life Research, 23(10), 2809–2818. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11136-014-0726-4/TABLES/6.
Chiao, C., Weng, L. J., & Botticello, A. L. (2012). Economic strain and well-being in late life: Findings from an 18-year population-based longitudinal study of older Taiwanese adults. Journal of Public Health, 34(2), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdr069.
Dautovich, N. D., Dzierzewski, J. M., & Gum, A. M. (2014). Older adults display concurrent but not delayed associations between Life stressors and depressive symptoms: A Microlongitudinal Study. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(11), 1131–1139. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JAGP.2013.02.008.
de Vries, L. P., Baselmans, B. M. L., & Bartels, M. (2021). Smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment of Well-Being: A systematic review and recommendations for Future studies. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(5), 2361–2408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00324-7.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542.
Dormann, C., & Griffin, M. A. (2015). Optimal time lags in panel studies. Psychological Methods, 20(4), 489–505. https://doi.org/10.1037/MET0000041.
Edwards, J. R., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2000). On the nature and direction of relationships between constructs and measures. Psychological Methods, 5(2), 155–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.5.2.155.
Ferrari, A. J., Somerville, A. J., Baxter, A. J., Norman, R., Patten, S. B., Vos, T., & Whiteford, H. A. (2013). Global variation in the prevalence and incidence of major depressive disorder: A systematic review of the epidemiological literature. Psychological Medicine, 43(3), 471–481. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291712001511.
Fried, E. I. (2017). What are psychological constructs? On the nature and statistical modelling of emotions, intelligence, personality traits and mental disorders. 11(2), 130–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2017.1306718
Fried, E. I., Nesse, R. M., Guille, C., & Sen, S. (2015). The differential influence of life stress on individual symptoms of depression. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 131(6), 465–471. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12395.
Frisch, M. B., Clark, M. P., Rouse, S. V., Rudd, M. D., Paweleck, J. K., Greenstone, A., & Kopplin, D. A. (2005). Predictive and Treatment Validity of Life Satisfaction and the Quality of Life Inventory. 12(1), 66–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191104268006.
George, L. K. (2010). Still happy after all these years: Research Frontiers on Subjective Well-being in later life. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65B(3), 331–339. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbq006.
Grayson, L., & Thomas, A. (2013). A systematic review comparing clinical features in early age at onset and late age at onset late-life depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 150(2), 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.03.021.
Gustavson, K., Røysamb, E., von Soest, T., Helland, M. J., Karevold, E., & Mathiesen, K. S. (2012). Reciprocal longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and romantic partners’ synchronized view of relationship quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 29(6), 776–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407512448264.
Hamaker, E. L., & Wichers, M. (2017). No Time like the Present. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(1), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721416666518.
Han, C., Jo, S. A., Jo, I., Kim, E., Park, M. H., & Kang, Y. (2008). An adaptation of the Korean mini-mental state examination (K-MMSE) in elderly koreans: Demographic influence and population-based norms (the AGE study). Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 47(3), 302–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ARCHGER.2007.08.012.
Heintzelman, S. J., Kushlev, K., Lutes, L. D., Wirtz, D., Kanippayoor, J. M., Leitner, D., Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2020). ENHANCE: Evidence for the efficacy of a comprehensive intervention program to promote subjective well-being. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 26(2), 360–383. https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000254.
Huebner, E. S. (1994). Preliminary Development and Validation of a multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children. Psychological Assessment, 6(2), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.149.
Irwin, M., Artin, K. H., & Oxman, M. N. (1999). Screening for Depression in the older Adult: Criterion Validity of the 10-Item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Archives of Internal Medicine, 159(15), 1701–1704. https://doi.org/10.1001/ARCHINTE.159.15.1701.
Joshanloo, M. (2016). Factor structure of Subjective Well-being in Iran. Journal of Personality Assessment, 98(4), 435–443. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2015.1117473.
Joshanloo, M. (2019). Lay conceptions of Happiness: Associations with reported Well-Being, personality traits, and Materialism. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02377.
Joshanloo, M., & Jovanović, V. (2021). Similarities and differences in predictors of life satisfaction across age groups: A 150-country study. Journal of Health Psychology, 26(3), 401–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318819054.
Kapteyn, A., Lee, J., Tassot, C., Vonkova, H., & Zamarro, G. (2015). Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being. Social Indicators Research, 123(3), 625–660. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0753-0.
Kievit, R. A., Frankenhuis, W. E., Waldorp, L. J., & Borsboom, D. (2013). Simpson’s paradox in psychological science: a practical guide. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00513.
Kohout, F. J., Berkman, L. F., Evans, D. A., & Cornoni-Huntley, J. (1993). Two shorter forms of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression) depression symptoms index. Journal of Aging and Health, 5(2), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/089826439300500202.
Krause, N., & Rook, K. S. (2003). Negative Interaction in Late Life: Issues in the Stability and Generalizability of Conflict Across relationships. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 58(2), P88–P99. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/58.2.P88.
Lee, A. E. Y., & Chokkanathan, S. (2008). Factor structure of the 10-item CES-D scale among community dwelling older adults in Singapore. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(6), 592–597. https://doi.org/10.1002/GPS.1944.
Lee, S. H., Choi, I., Choi, E., Lee, M., Kwon, Y., Oh, B., & Cole, S. W. (2020). Psychological well-being and gene expression in Korean adults: The role of age. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 120, 104785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104785.
Metler, S. J., & Busseri, M. A. (2017). Further evaluation of the tripartite structure of Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from longitudinal and experimental studies. Journal of Personality, 85(2), 192–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12233.
Möwisch, D., Schmiedek, F., Richter, D., & Brose, A. (2019). Capturing Affective Well-being in Daily Life with the Day Reconstruction Method: A Refined View on positive and negative affect. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 641–663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9965-3.
Nelson, B., McGorry, P. D., Wichers, M., Wigman, J. T. W., & Hartmann, J. A. (2017). Moving from static to dynamic models of the onset of mental disorder a review. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(5), 528–534. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.0001.
Ong, Q., Theseira, W., & Ng, I. Y. H. (2019). Reducing debt improves psychological functioning and changes decision-making in the poor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(15), 7244–7249. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810901116.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2008). The satisfaction with Life Scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(2), 137–152. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701756946.
Rohrer, J. M., & Murayama, K. (2023). These are not the effects you are looking for: Causality and the Within-/Between-Persons distinction in Longitudinal Data Analysis. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 6(1), 251524592211408. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459221140842.
Schimmack, U., & Oishi, S. (2005). The influence of chronically and temporarily accessible information on life satisfaction judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(3), 395–406. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.3.395.
Schimmack, U., Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2002). Cultural influences on the relation between pleasant emotions and unpleasant emotions: Asian dialectic philosophies or individualism-collectivism? Cognition and Emotion, 16(6), 705–719. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930143000590.
Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1991). Context effects in attitude surveys: Applying cognitive theory to Social Research. European Review of Social Psychology, 2(1), 31–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/14792779143000015.
Sivertsen, H., Bjørkløf, G. H., Engedal, K., Selbæk, G., & Helvik, A. S. (2015). Depression and quality of life in older persons: A review. In Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders (Vol. 40, Issues 5–6, pp. 311–339). Karger Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1159/000437299.
Sobel, I., Semyonov, M., & Lewin-Epstein, N. (2019). The Dynamic Relationship Between Wealth and Subjective Well-Being Among Mid-Life and Older Adults in Israel. In C. S. Gaël Brulé (Ed.), Wealth (s) and subjective well-being (pp. 415–442).
Steptoe, A. (2019). Happiness and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 40(1), 339–359. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044150.
Suh, E., Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Triandis, H. C. (1998). The shifting basis of life satisfaction judgments across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 482–493. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.2.482.
Terracciano, A., McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2003). Factorial and construct validity of the Italian positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 19(2), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.1027//1015-5759.19.2.131.
Wichers, M., Riese, H., Hodges, T. M., Snippe, E., & Bos, F. M. (2021). A narrative review of Network studies in Depression: What different methodological approaches tell us about Depression. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 1865. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYT.2021.719490/BIBTEX.
Windle, G., Woods, R. T., & Markland, D. A. (2010). Living with Ill-Health in older age: The role of a resilient personality. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(6), 763–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-009-9172-3.
Wright, A. G. C., & Woods, W. C. (2020). Personalized Models of Psychopathology. In Annual Review of Clinical Psychology (Vol. 16, Issue 1, pp. 49–74). Annual Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-102419-125032.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2022S1A5A8055166).
Funding
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF- 2022S1A5A8055166).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
SK conducted designing, analyzing, manuscript writing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest.
Ethics approval
The study procedure was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Pusan National University, and it received an IRB waiver of consent because the study is a secondary analysis study using de-identified and public-use data (PNU IRB/2023_128_HR).
Informed consent
The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.
All participants informed consent form.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Kwak, S. Longitudinal asynchrony between depressive symptoms and life satisfaction: a 14-year contemporaneous correlation. Curr Psychol 43, 15611–15620 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05543-8
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05543-8